Nathaniel Mackey

Mrs.Cramer

College Comp Pd.7

17 March, 2017

School Start Time

School should start later so students get more sleep and are more productive. Students are

more productive when they get more sleep and starting school later means that they will get the

sleep they need. Studies show improved test scores more productivity. Later start time also

shows a decrease in disciplinary action, students sleeping in class, and decrease in student

involved car accidents.

Students are not getting enough sleep. Studies show only 10 percent of kids ages 15 to 17

get the recommended amount of sleep for teens. While over half are getting less than 7 hours of

sleep(National sleep foundation). This is normal for teens, they do not like to go to sleep early. It

is also not as simple as just going to bed earlier either. This is due to biological and physiological

tendencies. A teens sleep-wake cycle is controlled by a the homeostatic drive for sleep and the

circadian(later school start time). For example process S builds while you are awake and makes

you feel tired, process s being the drive for sleep. This starts to go away as we move closer to

adolescence. Then process C (the circadian rhythm) helps teens determine when we should go to

sleep. It shifts during adolescence. This is called Delayed Phase Preference(later school start

time). Both processes C and S influence mood and learning abilities. So as I said simply going to

bed earlier does not make a teen less tired. There are so many benefits to teens getting the sleep

they need. More sleep leads to an increase in Memory and learning, Attention, Emotional
regulation, Mental health and well-being, as well as weight control or body mass index. One of

my sources found that "students who start school one hour later watch 12 fewer minutes of

television per day and spend 9 minutes more on homework per week."(Edwards 5) It goes on to

say that this may be because students that go to school later spend less time at home alone and do

homework because their parents are home. "In wake County, students who start school one hour

later have 1.3 fewer absences than the typical student a reduction of about 25

percent."(Edwards 5) Edward concluded his article with the following statement "My results

indicated that delaying the start times of middle schools that currently open at 7:30 by hour

would increase math and reading scores by two to three percentile points, an impact that persists

into the tenth grade." Those are a few reasons school should start later. Students will get more

sleep and will perform better not just academically but also in many other ways.

There are also a few reasons people believe school should stick with its early start times.

Reasons such as higher schools cost, later end times, parent schedules, and teens just staying up

later. Schools have been going as far as increasing class size and hiring fewer teachers just to

save some money. They are not going to want to start school later because that means busses will

be out at a later time which means they are going to be out during high traffic times and that

means they will use more gas and this of course means more money (George 2). That will not

work for schools that are already doing anything they can to save money. It might also increase

cost because teachers might want paid more because e they will be at work later in the day. But if

schools are trying to save money starting school later might help. Starting school later means that

classes will not be as long which means that teachers and resources won't be needed for as long

as they normally would and this means that they will save money. The next argument someone

might make is that school starting later will affect sports, and tutoring(George 2). Yes it will
effect sports but it could be in a good way, practices could be moved to in the morning and so

could tutoring. A study done by Appalachian State University found that exercising in the

morning could lead to more sleep at night and this is what teens need more of anyways. Like I

said tutoring could be moved to the morning or even stay as an afternoon activity because

parents don't get home until later in the day so they are able to pick their children up from

tutoring. The final argument that I talked about was that parents schedules' will be effected. This

is not true because the buses are provided to pick up their children and take them to and from

school. Parents taking their kids to school and picking them up should not be effected and this

means they will make it to school and makes the argument false. One argument the opposition

made was that if teens dont have to wake up early they will just stay up later. Yes teens will be

up later but just like we talked about before they are supposed to stay up this is okay though

because they will be able to sleep longer in the morning. It is normal for teens to stay up late and

sleep for longer hours. I have found very few arguments that say school should not start later.

The ones I talked about above were the arguments I found most in articles. Many of them as you

read have a fix and are invalid.

This is why school should start later allowing students get more sleep and makes them

that much more productive. The facts and sources I have provided show that students are more

productive when they get more sleep as well as starting school later means that they will get the

sleep they need. As explained studies show improved test scores more productivity. Later start

times also show a decrease in disciplinary action, students sleeping in class, and decrease in

student involved car accidents. So that is why school start times should be later and the many

positive effects that will come with are a pretty nice plus.
 Works Cited
By Finley Edwards "Do Schools Begin Too Early" Education Next. Summer 2012. 3/20/17.
Later School Start Times Promote Adolescent Well-Being. The Children, youth, & Families
Office of the American Psychological Association. American Psychological Association. 3/20/17.
By Donna St. George "Debate over school start times flares anew" The Washington Post.
January 1. 3/20/17.

5 Pros and Cons of Later School Start Times. Master of Arts in Teaching Guide. 2017. 3/20/17

By ASU News "Early morning exercise is best for reducing blood pressure and improving sleep"
University News Appalachian State University. June 13, 2011. 3/20/17